Yahoo Hijack

Download and run Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes was developed by one of our own colleagues here in ASC and is about the most proven anti-malware software for Mac. It’s the only one recommended by Apple tech support folks.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/

Hi Mama_Rose,

When you say hijack, do you mean hacked, or you search engine of choice has been reset and you cannot find a way to restore it to your original settings. Either way, if you are hacked, get Avast Antivirus for a quick free scan of your Mac to detect any malicious files on your computer. Even if you are not hacked per say, it is just in general smart to have antivirus software. If you want to get a paid solution for the long run, check Avast paid options, as Avast is pretty cool, or use Malwarebytes. I personally, though, use Kaspersky Internet Security, and it is awesome. If you do purchase it, though, be ready to do some tweaks, because it wants you to be so safe, its protections out of the box can be ridiculously annoying. Though, once personalized after about 5-7 minutes, it is the best! If you are simply having trouble changing your search engine, go to Finder> Applications> and delete the troublesome Yahoo app by dragging it to the trash. Then open Safari, go to the Safari button in the top menu strip, and click "Preferences", then go to the "Search" tab, and select your search engine of choice.

Hope this helps you out!

Luke

Do not use Avast or Kaspersky on your Mac. Both have been responsible for many issues that have been reported in these forums. No Anti-Virus software or so-called “cleaning” apps are needed or recommended for Mac OS. They can conflict with Mac's own built-in security. At best they will slow your Mac by using unnecessary resources and at worst will bork your entire system. Your Mac has all the built-in protection you need.

https://www.apple.com/macos/security/

Unless I am mistaken, you are the one who recommended Malwarebytes. While it is true that Mac’s have amazing security, it is irresponsible to say that Mac’s cannot get viruses. They can and do get infected. In fact, this article here shares a statement made by the very anti-virus company you were promoting.

Read here: https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/2/12/21134681/mac-pc-virus-malware-malwarebytes

Mac’s are computers with file systems and many apps can access many elements of a Mac file system, and thus they can get viruses. From your response, it seems like you don’t use anti-virus software as of now, so how can you be qualified to say that they bloat your system and can “bork” your system, when you do not seem to use one, but promote Malwarebytes? In fact, you even go as far as to say that “Malwarevytes is the most proven anti-malware software for Mac” and “It’s the only one recommended by the Apple tech support folks”, so if it could “bork” your system, why would Apple Support recommend any anti-malware software?

As a user of Kaspersky every day for now years on both Mac and PC, I can testify that it does not “bloat” or “bork” your system, and has saved me from dangerous malware that macOS would have otherwise not stopped.

I’m sorry you or anyone else become offended by these words, but I am a strong believer in critical thinking and believe that before people make things public, they should think hard and long about what they are putting out there.

Stay safe and healthy out there.

Have a good day,

Luke

Well, what you've overlooked is that Catalina (OS 10.15) introduced the Mac HD volume which is read only and contains the OS and system, so there is no "virus" that can penetrate it.

And, you also confused a virus with malware which are not the same thing.

So, you go on ahead and use it; you might also want to google the reasons why they keep suing the American government and judges are throwing out their cases. Here is but one example:

https://www.lawfareblog.com/kaspersky-lab-v-dhs-governments-response-and-kasperskys-reply

Even if their AV stuff did something beneficial, I would not allow anything from such a company within 10 miles of any of my macs.

I will fill in a technical detail that you may or may not have noticed, while the people who have spent several years in this forum helping users who have been sabotaged by these anti-virus "saviors" handle the person trying to sell you unnecessary software. Catalina uses a new breakout of the OS ... one read-only partition for the system and one read/write for data. This is in response to attempts by bad programs to access system files. Now even the system user must use extra steps to access the read-only part. Few programs, including Malwarebytes (which does not change or remove), have the expertise that prevent them from damaging the file structure the system requires.

Listen to those who tell you to stay away from commercial anti-virus bloatware.

While I see your point, there is more to it than just common sense. There are times when you think you are downloading from a reputable source, and adware or malware is attempted to be installed. For what I do, I download files and apps from many sources frequently, and having a program that can protect me more than just the main macOS security can is invaluable.

There are times when you think you are downloading from a reputable source, and adware or malware is attempted to be installed.

Well, I am prudent and only download from sources I know to be safe.

download files and apps from many sources frequently and having a program that can protect me

there is NO software that will protect you from downloading from questionable sites except your own awareness.

And, your OS and system files are safe, so there is nothing else to be protected. Getting a popup ad is easily dealt with.

The best (and only 100% sure) protection is the user him/herself.

So, use your computer correctly, and you'll be fine.

I always do.

i am happy to say that I have NEVER used Windows or a Windows box. Therefore, I only skimmed through your lengthy ode/experiences with Windows. I do Mac.

I have never installed anti-AV "stuff".

It’s good that you are happy with your choices.

All I am concerned about is mine, which I am also pleased with.

Though, Windows computers are not my computers of choice either, they are still computers, and thus do represent a big part of how computers work.

You may be happy to have never used a PC, but I have had both good and bad experiences with PCs and Mac computers alike, and without having any experiences with another computer, you will not be able to experience maximum gratitude for the computer you have. You will also never be able to appreciate the things Microsoft did right with Windows . Still not enough for me, but they did some good. I feel sorry that you have not had the experience of using a PC, and/or that you are close minded to using one. They can be great when they are.

I’m happy that your method of computing has allowed the Mac protection built in to be sufficient enough to protect you. It’s not enough for me, and thus I like to be safe and not sorry when I loose all my photos from the last 20 years.

Its good that you do Mac. I do as well. I like to not be a close minded individual, and as a video I saw on the Bright Side said, smart people like to always be open minded and if I want to make a point that something is or isn’t true, I will provide facts that I find, not by making someone else find facts to prove my point.

If what you’re doing is working, keep doing it. I’ll keep doing what works for me, which in my case is to be open minded. But at the end of the day, I’ll spend the money and be safe instead of sorry. The “anti-AV stuff” works, and has proven itself to work. That’s a fact.

Good day.

Hi all,

Regarding the virus vs malware dispute, I'll let paragraph 3 of this informative article speak for itself. : )

https://lifehacker.com/the-difference-between-antivirus-and-anti-malware-and-1176942277

Luke

Good article, but there is no mention of the built in protections in Mac OS, so it appears to be windows-centric which is completely irrelevant (unless you are running Windows of course). You do know that Mac OS has its own protection? And that, with Catalina, the OS is behind a wall (so to speak) on a separate volume which cannot be accessed/written to. So, any virus/malware/whatever can only "attack" your User folder which contains your files, etc. But that is not what that software is looking for - they want access to your system which is not accessible.

Luke,

There are no viruses for Mac OS, not one. However there is other malware out there that can be easily avoided which I will explain in a moment. Many users call anything that adversly affects Mac OS a "virus"which it is not. The type of malware I am referring to must be downloaded and installed by one of the computer's users. A virus does not act that way.

To avoid malware is pretty simple by using some common sense. That includes:

• Never download something from a site you don't know or recognize.
• Never use a torrent to download and app that you did not pay for.
• If it looks fishy, it probably is so learn to trust your senses.

Most of the experienced users on these forums have been using Mac OS for many many years. Personally I have for close to 20 years and not once have I ever had any malware installed in any of the Macs (about 15 now) I have owned. Why, because I follow what I preach.

Installing antivirus or cleaning apps generally is a recipe to make Mac OS unstable, slow and appear buggy and to have traits that are directly linked to the AV or cleaning app modifying and damaging Mac OS. In short, there is ZERO upside to installing AV and/or cleaning apps.

If a user does download adware or other types of malware, then Malwarebytes is an excellent tool that can remove them. If a user use the common sense techniques described above, even Malwarebytes is unnecessary.